Hopkinton tech incubator gets $25,000 grant to help area startups

Saturday

May 10, 2014 at 4:28 AM

By Anamika RoyDaily News Staff

HOPKINTON - In its quest to turn MetroWest into the next Silicon Valley, TechSandBox, a Hopkinton-based incubator for science and technology companies, received a $25,000 grant this week to create a training program to help new businesses get on their feet.TechSandBox received the grant from Westborough-based Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a public agency that works with technology companies across the state.The Hopkinton group was able to get the grant with support from public officials such as state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, and Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki, according to TechSandBox CEO and founder Barbara Finer.“MetroWest is home to thousands of us who have made their mark starting and growing the scalable, tech sector businesses that really define innovation,” said Finer in a press release.Finer hopes to model TechSandBox’s training program, which she calls a “cohort accelerator,” after MassChallenge, a Boston-based program that takes nearly 150 startups under its wing from around the world every year. More than 1,500 companies applied for the program this year, said Finer, who is a judge for MassChallenge. The selected companies are housed at the Boston facility and learn how to make their companies successful.TechSandBox has six months to iron out the details for its training program, which will target science and technology companies in MetroWest. However, Finer said it might be open to companies based in New England as a whole, particularly those from Providence and Hartford.“We want the best companies in here,” said Finer on Thursday.A steering committee with between 10 and 20 members will come up with a plan for the program to present to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. TechSandBox has to give regular updates about its progress over the coming months.Finer said Silicon Valley is home to many programs that help young companies.“I think this is exactly the kind of thing that is needed here,” she said.Anamika Roy can be reached at 508-626-3957 or aroy@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @anamikaroy.